T-Shirts

Posting has been light this week, as I’m sure both of you are aware. Been a lot of happenings at work and here at the Robot’s Pub and Pool Hall.

The new shirts are back from the printer and we, meaning me, myself and the imaginary girlfriend who lives in my head, are busy with the learning curve of setting up the tax and shipping options in the Robo-Shoppe.

Of course, I wasn’t aware that I needed to register with USPS for any shipping options, and I didn’t find that out until today (Sunday). USPS is, of course, closed for renovations on Sundays don’-cha-know, which means the new shirts won’t be available through the online store until some time tomorrow (12/13/10). Arrgghh.

As of now, I’m busy trying to “stock” the products in their respective online bins and such, which entails creating a new product for each size if I wish the program to help me keep track of inventory, and I do. Tedious.

So, rather than continue to bore you with the further details, I’ll share with you a couple of photos of the final products. We changed the coloring of the “Peace thru Strength” tee to a more solarized, psychadelic type of motif, which I think is pretty cool. Here, see for yourself. (I think they look even better in person.)

The other, “Smiley Face Nuke” is radical as well.

We here at the Robot’s Pub and Pool Hall think every red-blooded American needs one of these fine pieces of apparel, so we are offering them at the rock bottom price of $16 each plus tax, title and shipping.

We can’t think of a better way to thumb your nose at the despot of the month than to smile in the face of danger or turn a beloved sixties commie/hippie icon on it’s head.

Once upon a childhood, it would have never occurred to me that a few ne’er-do-wells from the counter culture of the Sixties and Seventies might come of age and into positions of power. Nor did it cross my then incubatory mind that those protesters become-leaders could, in good conscience, exercise ever more control over the people they claimed to have been protesting for. I see now they weren’t “for” anything, always “against” and now that they hold the reins of power, the new boss is sadly, worse than the old boss. What’s so puzzling is perhaps the tactic. They are still protesting. Only now it is we the people they protest against and from our very own ivory towers no less!

Rapunzel! Rapunzel! You have been corrupted by the power of the tower! Let down your golden locks so that I may grasp your train to yank you down from your smugly throne!

One struggles to describe the depths of hypocrisy and down-right evil these professed elites use against the very people who unwittingly or unwillingly fund their thievery in the name of an unachievable equality: The Equality of Result. It is an easy sale to make vs. the Equality of Opportunity granted in our Constitution because so many people love to hear that they are owed something from you or I for a long ago grievance they themselves never suffered. By using such lies they leech the life’s blood of industry, squelch the motivation to succeed, and rob the people ofÂ self reliance.

Yes, here we are again, at a point in time which through over taxation and a long train of abuses, people in our government attempt to dis-inspire our minds, disintegrate our communities, disenfranchise our unions, misappropriate our monies, and dissect our humanity as a specimen in a lab experiment or TSA line. Our lives have become just another paper statistic. Their failings another reason touted as to why we need to be led by those who know more. Our dreams are merely stepping stones for their rise to power, and our achievements are quickly seized upon to be made theirs. We after all, knew nothing before their arrival and so can do nothing of merit without their benevolent hand.

I find it simultaneously interesting and disconcerting, at the same time. (heh)

Interesting to observe the chess play, watching and listening as sophistry passes for enlightenment, I’ve seen enlightenment and you have to look no further than the Constitution and the associated writings of a few truly wise men that lived just over a couple hundred years ago. So sad that the supposed scholars use their knowledge of the thing to destroy it rather than repair what needs fixing, which, in my opinion would be a thorough de-lousing.

Disconcerting that while they claim to be for the common man, they invariably show themselves to be liars and demagogs, favoring only the oligarchy and aristocracy that an out of control government exhibits instead of putting their faith in the tried and proven abilities and hard working character of the American people, or any truly free people for that matter.

Beware those who promise happiness as a right in the guise of hope. Happiness can never be guaranteed.

Beware those who decline to honor your sacrifice but who also demand it.

Beware those who profess fairness while denying respect. From them you will receive neither.

Reflecting on this situation, and drinking a few beers, has inspired me to take a couple of icons from that Aquarian Age and create a couple of new designs intended to poke an irony stick in the eye of those former beatniks who bought the communist/socialist/corporatist lie and walked this country and the world ever closer to Armageddon. Notice that I’m not pointing out a particular party. I’m pointing at the Progressive Movement in particular. Both parties are rife with those liberty devouring termites.

At any rate, here are the new designs for the Robo-Shirt line. By offering these for sale I am willingly committing an act of American Capitalism and I thumb my nose in the face of an anti-business government.

I also realize my timing in regards to the Christmas shopping season isn’t as, um, timely as it should be to get these printed and offered for the season. Which is to say, I hope to have them ready for Christmas but I can’t say for sure. Hey, the muse just hit me, one can’t time such a thing.

I’m in the process of selecting the manufacturer, so in the mean time, feel free to comment on and offer suggestions as to what you would like in the way of size and type. I’m thinking of offering some tees tailored to the ladies this time also. As before, the shirt will be black. I simply don’t have the funds to offer other colors at this time. Besides, these need a black shirt.

As to meaning of the designs themselves, if some further, individual explanation is required, here you go:

The “Peace thru strength” is self explanatory, or should be. It is not meant to tout the fact that our ancestors used the nuke, but to lament the fact that they felt forced to. I would have done the same, considering what I know of the circumstances, then I would have been forced to live with the consequences, as we all still do.

The “Have a nice day” is meant as a warning to those who would buy what a charlatan wishes to sell, only to find out too late the road leads to damnation. That, and I like the juxtaposition. I found it humorous and at the same time, alarming.

Blogspot…

There once was a somewhat shy *cough* never outspoken *hack* designer/drummer *blech* who could no longer withhold his views from the world, or at least the few people outside his circle of friends who might listen to those opinions. He felt compelled to begin an online journal to hopefully spare some of his close friends from the verbal outrage at what was happening in America. Once started on that journal, it soon became a journey, to where no-one knows, but for now has been a source of developing friendships and personal edification that he will never forget or regret.

I, being he, have met some fine patriotic people online in the blogging community and have come in contact through their writings with many more whom I probably will never have the opportunity to meet. That is no fault of any one, itâ€™s just an observance that the number of conservative bloggers is growing. This is a good thing. I love it.

Unlike Stacy McCain, of The Other McCain, I have no aspirations of taking over the entire blogosphere, though I certainly donâ€™t hold it against him that he wishes to do so. More power to you Stacy. I simply want to add my voice to the many who are crying out that our government has been transformed from its original purpose and was/is being further transformed in an exponentially quicker pace into the monster our Founders warned us against. That fight still remains. To what end is a matter on which I pray daily. Can I get an Amen?

Iâ€™m happy you have all accepted my quirky, jerky, rambling attempts at humor and hopefully motivational or educational essays and rants. You really know how to make an abby-normal guy feel welcome. As Carol of No Sheeples Here likes to say, Iâ€™m proud to be standing guard over liberty with all of you.

Thinking on how to commemorate the first anniversary of my online life, I thought I might trace back and find a few highlights to share with you. A sort of naked baby pictures type of thing, except without the baby, or the naked.

If I had to pick, the one post from the old site that gave me the most satisfaction was Reclaiming the American Spirit which was picked up and quoted from again by Bob, along with dozens of other bloggers who were shouting against the tyranny taking place in the form of Health Care Reform. I remember the pride I felt being included in the company of those proud patriots, knowing in my heart the love of freedom we all feel and the anger and desperation we all had at that very moment. I know we still do, but this is a happy day, right? RIGHT!?

Almost everywhere that is, except Instapundit, as Lance noted in one of the more backhandedly selfish comments I’ve seen at the Robot:

Could somebody get this guy an Instalance, please? I could use the instaseconds.

Ha! That Troglopundit. What a card. Always hitching a ride on someone else’s train. But who am I to judge? It seems to be working for him. Maybe one day I’ll have the opportunity to buy my favorite unfrozen caveman a beer.

Dot Com…

The Robot moved to the new digs on April 26 this year. Four months ago. The old site had 9,400 unique visits according to Sitemeter at the time. I have no idea if that’s good, bad or what in the big scheme of things. Since the move the traffic has tripled and I have no doubt that it’s due to the help from my friends at The Resistance: Steve, Matt, Mike, Doug, Chris and the ever campaigning Russ. Not to mention my fellow Gulf Coast neighbors Jeffrey and Red. Thank you guys for the links and encouragement.

Someone Said This Was Funny– someone on Stumbleupon loves this pic. Someone else on Stumbleupon hates this pic. I tell you what, Bub, I hate it too, but not because its defaming your favorite President.

My personal favorite posts from the past four months were the Robo-Love Experiments #1, #2 & #3. Of the 3 I like the third the best. They were a lot of fun and a challenge at the same time, even if, as Belvedere says, I need help with my naming conventions.

I’m over a thousand words now in what was going to be a quick “thank you for your support” post, and I’m sure I missed a bunch of folks who need a good thanking, including the frequent commenters likeÂ Bunni, Opie and Georges.

If I missed you, please feel free to cajole your spouse, significant other or some bum on the street to give you a solid thanking for me, right smack on the backside, where you’ll remember it.

Thanks again for visiting the Robot. It’s been a memorable first year. I’m proud to be among you who will stand up and say No More!

I’ve added Chris’s strip featuring the ‘bot and while I’m here I wanted to mention a few other bloggers who have helped your humble host maintain his sanity while we watch with horror and still struggle against the Dem-olition of our country.

The vast army of supermodels slaving away in the robot’s basement have at long last produced the soon to be infamous Robo-Tees. Those robotic vixens used their feminine wiles on me and convinced me to change my mind about the size spread.

The sizes now offered are: M, LG, XL, XXL, and XXXL. The XXL and XXXL cost more from the shirt manufacturer, so those are a bit more than my original estimate of 20 dollars a shirt. I’ll still pick up the tab for shipping and sales tax.

The best news is that, all of the shirts come with a fancy American flag on the label because they were manufactured here in the good-old US of A. Woo Hoo!

As a side note, I’m new to this whole e-tail thing so, if you encounter a problem in the Shoppe, please let me know.

If you have any questions or suggestions, you can leave it in the comments, or email me at

Your title â€œannouncing robot tshirtsâ€¦â€ is just great, other webmaster should take it from you..

Heh, why thank you spaminator, I thought so too. Some other webmaster better not though. That phrase is copyrighted.

Speaking of T-Shirts, I’m hopefully going to take possession of said Tees soon. I expected to have them in my mechanical mitts before now but things never proceed as anticipated.

On another note,

I know posting has been spotty of late. I’ve been covered in work and outside stuff. Please take the time to peruse the Prime tab and the mighty blogroll is always a good reference, as is this weeks featured blog.

I’m hoping things will normalize around the beginning of next week.

UPDATE:

Helpful hint from Heloise: If you want more junk in your spam trunk, just do a post entitled “Spambots R Fun.” – Yep, that’ll do it. DOH!

Do not try this at home kids. Leave it to the professional idiots, like me.

OK folks, gather round,Â I’ve got an announcement. I’m about to commit an act of *gasp* Capitalism. I’m sure this will send Obama’s head spinning. The ‘bot is going to sell some swag!

Initially, there will be only one design. You can order it in any color you like, as long as it’s black and you can order any size you want, as long as it large or extra large. Except now. If one of you loyal readers, commenter or blog owners (you know who you are) were to request a special size before Thursday 7-1-10, when I place the order, I’ll include your request. No need to pay up front, we’ll go on the honor system.

I know where you blog.

Here is the design. Pretty slick, don’t you think? Lets everyone know the content of your character or that you are a character. Either way, at least you get something for your 20 bucks. (Shipping included in the continental US only.)

UPDATE III: Looks like I’ve got to back up on the GPal payment method for now, I truly thought it would be easier to find an online ecommerce site that uses it. If it’s out there, I haven’t found it, so I’m forced to choose between Google Checkout and PayPal. I’m going with PayPal, as I think most everyone I know of already has a PP account. Hopefully the ecommerce site I choose will be able to integrate with GPal in the future or another will come available.

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